Yuri and the Ghost Ship
by Baby Kat Snophlake
Summary: After something happens (I don't know what), Yuri is left floating at sea. He runs into the ghost ship where a phantom crew seems out for his blood.
1. Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part One

A/N: I found this story in my The 500 Challenge archives and loved it enough to share. Enjoy!

 **Yuri and the Ghost Ship**

Even floating was tiring, and with the salty waves splashing against his face, Yuri wasn't able to get much rest. The fog grew thick around him until he couldn't even see the board he clung to. All that remained of his boat was his only lifeline, though he thought he would've been eaten long before now. Yuri tried looking around, but salt and fog obscured his vision. The most he could hope for now was that the sea was just as blind to his whereabouts as he was.

Then he thought he saw a dark shape ahead of him. The sheer size of it told him it was a ship, and Yuri hollered. There was no way the people aboard would see him, but there was a chance they could hear him.

"Hey! Over here!" Yuri waved with a free hand. The ship moved closer and he felt his excitement giving him strength. But he heard no reply…

The ship faded into view and stopped right next to him. A rope ladder fell down the side and Yuri took hold before it could be recoiled. It was a struggle though as he was exhausted from drifting at sea for so long, but he managed to cling. "I've got hold! You can pull me up now." The rope didn't move. Yuri looked up. "Hey, did you hear me?"

Nothing.

Yuri sighed. "Fine, I'll pull myself up." He struggled with the climb, pulling each knot closer, until he finally reached the deck. He pulled himself and allowed himself to fall over, gasping for breath. There was no one there to help him up, but he was too tired to do much more than turn his head. What he saw before he closed his eyes was a rotting deck.

Yuri awoke to the rocking of the ship. The night had fallen and he could barely see the moon through the fog. He felt much more alert, but now discomforted. Whoever had thrown him the rope would've carried him to a safer location, right? He sat up. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

No response.

"Huh… Well that's creepy." He stood and wandered the deck with his hands outstretched. With so little light, there was very little to see. He could easily run into the mast or a door, or even fall right back off the ship. Being blinded, though, allowed him to hear and smell things he'd never experienced before. Rotting wood was strong among smells of stinky fish smells, and the waves were the most prominent sounds he could hear. He thought he heard tentacled creatures scraping against the hull. With each step he felt his courage faltering.

With so little he could see, he thought it was best to find the cabin and stay within it, but it was a hit or miss if he would find it at all. He judged where it might be. The ship had come at him, meaning he had climbed aboard on the starboard side and he needed to head stern side to find the cabin.

But he fell in a hole before he got there…


	2. Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Two

**Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Two**

He landed with a heavy thump, face down into a cloud of dirt. As if his vision wasn't bad enough. He moaned, forcing himself to his hands and knees for bearings. This time, he used his hands to feel around the floor as he crawled along, though he was still a little lightheaded from the fall. What was a hole doing in the deck? And why was there no one here? The boat creaked and swayed, and the lack of human-made noises seemed to escalate the sounds of the sea. He could almost smell the tentacles clutching the ship and he felt them wrap around his heart and stomach, crushing, squirming. Perhaps he was better off on that small plank of wood after all…

Yuri's hand touched something round that squished beneath his fingers.

The tentacles!

He bolted to his feet and ignoring his blindness ran back the way he had come. He could almost feel the tentacles chasing him, closing in on his ankles. He half-expected them to grab hold any second.

A burst of color exploded in front of him. He stopped short. A lantern swung from the ceiling, its stained glass panes shone starfish patterns all over the walls. He turned around to face the tentacles, but there was nothing there. Did it shrink back into the darkness? Indeed he felt something just beyond the light, watching him, waiting…

All around him, what he could see, there were worn crates piled up. He glanced up at the lantern. It wasn't too high. If he could pile up the crates and reach it, he would have protection from the creature hiding in the darkness. He piled the crates, and pulled the lantern from its hook. Now maybe he would know if there was a hole in the floor. He walked back towards the monster and the lantern lit up a rotting wall and the gaping hole he had apparently run through. All corners of this side of the room were empty.

Picking his way back the way he had come, he kept his eyes searching every corner the light touched. He found the hole in the deck he had originally fallen through and apprehension took hold. The thing he had touched wasn't too far from this spot. He walked slower still, keeping his eyes on the ground. The tentacles were shaking in the darkness, he just knew it.

Then the lantern light fell on a coiled rope, soaked moist and rotted. Was that what he had touched? It felt different now that he could see it, though. But what he felt before felt rubbery. Was that his imagination? He turned on the spot. There was nothing in his glowing haven, but what lie just beyond it unnerved him. Was he really alone?

"Hello? Is there anyone here?"

The ship creaked again.

Yuri sighed and wandered further down the hallway. Wherever anyone was, they weren't here. But that couldn't be right. _Someone_ had thrown him the rope in the first place. It wasn't there when he reached the ship. He couldn't help but feeling he had found a ghost ship, but that was silly. That would mean there were ghosts aboard this ship…


	3. Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Three

**Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Three**

Yuri found a staircase and tested the bottom step with his foot. It felt secure enough. It was either that or the door and he'd rather go up and find the captain's cabin then down into the unknown. That tentacled monster still weighed on him in his mind's eye. He took each step carefully, testing each one before resting his feet. He kept his eyes up, down, behind, and in front. Between two of the stairs, his eyes flashed across a woman's face.

Then snapped back to it.

Except that she was no longer there.

Yuri's skin prickled and he shivered. Had he really seen her? No, of course not. It was a trick of his overactive mind, just like when he touched that rope and it felt like an octopus. He was simply seeing things and there was nothing more going on than that. His only real threat was the holes in the floors and stairs.

He climbed the stairs with more confidence and found himself in another hallway. This one, he saw lights shining as soon as he walked in. There were other people standing in the hallway, each holding their own lantern.

"Great! So I'm not the only one here!" He strode for one of them and watched them hurry closer until he realized he was staring at himself. There was a mirror. "Damn it!" He punched the mirror through and the glass shattered to his feet. This time it was no trick of the eye. His own desperation for other humans had tricked him. He glanced around again. The mirrors took up most of every wall, though it was very eerie to see his own ghostly self holding the lantern.

He half expected that woman's face to return in the mirrors. Looking through the glass, he almost felt like there would be more to the ship on the other side. Though, he reminded himself, there were probably crew hammocks in rooms on the other side of these walls. The mirror he broke had a wooden wall between that probably would've broken through. He doubted the air was salty on the other side.

Still, he'd spend enough time wandering, he wanted to find a place to settle down and sleep until daylight. Then he would be able to find either some way to attract attention from another ship, to find a way to leave this ship and drift at sea once more, or to find food. His water situation wasn't the best either. He crossed the hallway and through another door, feeling more brave than he had before. So far, the only tricks on his mind were things he had envisioned himself. Nothing had really attacked him or presented themselves to him in any tangible way.

The more steps he took through the ship, the more stable he felt.

Finally, at long last, he found the captain's cabin. Stairs led right to it and as he looked around, he found another mirror, a desk, and a bookshelf nearly intact with all the books on it. However long the ship had been adrift, it sure hadn't taken enough of a spill to dump everything to the floor yet. But the seas could not be that calm all the time. At least, he thought they couldn't.

A/N: Apparently I avoided continuity. XD He's been here before but it's a whole new ship. Oh well.


	4. Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Four

**Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Four**

Still, it wasn't his concern right now. He really needed to get some sleep. He scoured the captain's cabin for any kind of bed, but found nothing of the sort. Not even anything soft he could lay his head on. He finally settled on a couple of books from the shelf to elevate his head and he lay on his side staring at the bookcase. Now that he was a lying down he didn't feel tired. No, his mind focused too much on the noises he was hearing to really sleep.

The ship was still creaking, but he could almost hear whispers. It was like he wasn't alone at all, yet he knew he was. There hadn't been another living soul on this ship that he had seen, monster, human, or otherwise. Or maybe he couldn't sleep because his mouth was so dry. Eventually, he was going to have to find some drinkable water. He doubted he would though, as old as this ship appeared to be. He might have to find a way to purify the ocean water.

It was with these thoughts that he sank into another uneasy sleep.

This time, Yuri woke up with confusion. It took him a moment to remember he was still on a ship when he had been dreaming about being at home in Zaphias. He sat up and sighed, now more thirsty than ever. Then he noticed a canteen sitting next to the pile of books he used as a pillow. He stared at it for several minutes. Where did that come from? It wasn't there when he went to sleep, was it? He tried to remember but it was thoughts of the innkeeper slapping her ladle against the table at Flynn for ruining her pancakes by staring at them.

He finally reached out for the canteen and wrapped hesitant fingers around it. He lifted it and paused. Would there be water sloshing around if he shook it? Doubt nagged at him, and his hand was still. Finally he tilted the canteen and a jolt of excitement gripped him when he heard it. There was definitely water in that canteen, but it wouldn't be there for long.

Yuri drained it in two major swallows and sighed that there wasn't more than that. He tossed the canteen aside. The water definitely hit the spot and never tasted any better. Energized, he stood to full height and saw the room in a whole new light. It didn't look so gloomy and scary. It was actually almost inviting. He wandered the cabin, running his fingers through the dust on everything. More crates were piled in the corner and one of them caught his eye. It was broken and something had seeped out of it. He bent for a closer look and reached to scoop some up in his hands.

"Don't!"

It was a faint whisper, but that was enough. Yuri stood and turned around in circles searching for the woman who said it. There was still no one there.

A/N: Half-way there. I'm breaking it up like this because it was a 500 challenge entry. I wrote it over 8 days, apparently. :)


	5. Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Five

**Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Five**

But then mist appeared in front of the mirror and Yuri could see through it to the figure materializing in the glass. A young woman with long wavy blond hair stared at him. His eyes widened. She was the same one he had seen under the stairs! She wasn't his imagination after all. He stepped back.

"Wh-who are you?"

She didn't answer but continued to stare at him. After several moments of still and silence, she raised her hand and pointed to the crate behind him. He turned to see the residue still scattered on the floor. "Don't… touch…"

Yuri turned back to her. "Why? What's wrong with it?"

A knife soared through the air and struck the mirror, right through the woman's vapored chest and cracked the mirror. The ghost vanished and Yuri stepped back from the spilled crate. "Who else is here? I know you're there, you threw that knife, didn't you!"

Laughter echoed all around him, it seemed to come from everywhere all at once, and yet he saw no one but that ghostly woman. Then among the laughter, he heard the comings of a mournful song. The words were sung like a poem with a steady beat and the sounds of it chilled his blood. His instinct told him to run. There was only one place to go.

Back down the stairs.

Yuri flew, using the rotted banisters to keep his feet off the steps, and ran down the long hallway past the mirrors. This time, he could see ghosts seeping into view in the mirrors, each one holding their own weapon. There was even a giant squid among them, waving tentacles that Yuri feared had been there the whole time. It appeared to take a swipe at him, and Yuri ducked low to the ground until he was crawling like a snake, flat against the floor. There was no way that thing could be alive. None!

The next room was as empty as before, but if the mirrored hallway was any indication, he was not as alone as he wished. The mirrors merely showed who was there that he couldn't see. As scary as it was to see them all, Yuri was even more scared not knowing what was there. The ship moaned with fervor and Yuri could feel every unknown sound snatching beats from his heart, every second sucked another year off his life, and there was nothing else for him but to dive back into the ocean with his plank of wood or without.

He chased darkness with his lantern, his ears were now straining to hear. The laughter had died away when he left the mirrored hallway, but that didn't mean he was alone. He tread carefully to avoid the squid tentacles but in a rush. He wasn't sure that whatever was hanging around would let him off that easily, especially since it threw at knife at him. More than anything else, that knife unnerved him. It meant that though they were ghosts, they could move real objects and hurt him very easily.


	6. Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Six

**Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Six**

More doors and stairs, every part of the ship had gone eerily silent as if it was waiting for him to make the wrong move. He strained his ears and his pace slowed only because of the unknown. With each new room and hallway, he wanted to check for mirrors, but didn't want to know if they would contain any malevolence. The transparent woman was one thing; she seemed to be warning him away from danger, but the anchor-wielding mermen and the ship's dead crew with their axes and swords were a whole other issue entirely. But then, Yuri also wondered why the crew would be so violent. Sailors weren't usually violent. If anything, they were peaceful people doing what they love the most.

Then what happened to them?

Yuri found another hallway with iron bars set across the middle, blocking his progress. He stood at the bars, staring past them at the hallway beyond. Was that an exit? He reached his hand through and felt cold air…

The mist from before rematerialized. Yuri stepped back.

"So which one are you?"

A woman appeared in the mist. She was the same one as before with the long blonde hair.

"Back again, are you? What's going on?" Yuri examined her pale face for any sign of recognition, but her expression was blank. Somehow, after the other ghosts, she didn't seem so scary. In fact, Yuri watched her with a kind of relief. Where the rest of the ship felt like danger and tentacles, the safest place on it was where this woman happened to be. Though, remembering the knife, Yuri did wonder if that safety was false.

She smiled and pointed down at the iron bars. Yuri looked and noticed what she was pointing at. Where the bars were rusted, an axe had been placed to hold the bars up just a few inches. It wasn't much, but if Yuri could lift the bars, he could possibly get through. And the axe might be enough to hold the bars long enough for him to slip under. He glanced up again.

"Is this really the right way to go? Will this get me outside?"

The ghost smiled and this time, he heard her whisper. "Life boat."

"There's a life boat beyond here?"

She nodded.

"Great! Thanks!" Yuri bent and heaved at the iron bars. It wasn't easy, pushing on the axe and pulling the bars up. He had worked quite a sweat before he glanced over to check his progress. The bars had raised, but not nearly far enough. He would have to try another tact. If he found something to put between the axe handle and the floor, he might be able to use the leverage to push up the bars even better. He had to backtrack some, but he did find some wood he could try.

Finally, the bars were lifted and they crashed behind him after he slipped through. Now, to the find the life boat, but Yuri felt the chill when he realized the ghost woman had left him. He hadn't realized just how comforting she was until that moment when she was no longer there.


	7. Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Seven

**Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Seven**

The next room was full of weapons and mutilated skeletons. Some had chips in the bones, some chips even still had the axe that killed the person. Bones were scattered everywhere covered in cobwebs. A putrid smell of mold stung Yuri's nose. He covered his nose with his arm and coughed. What was with this place?! He stepped carefully. There were hardly any spaces where his feet wouldn't roll on or crush a bone. It was almost like the entire crew had gathered here for a slaughter, but why would they do that?

Though it would explain the ghosts…

The room turned chilled as if he was standing in the middle of the Blade Drifts of Zopheir. The same feeling he had when the Bataijoh whale monster splashed out of the water and rose into the sky to face him washed over him as well and he hesitated to turn. He could feel the giant squid ghost he had seen lurking behind him with the same hungry expression the Bataijoh had. A ring of cold wrapped around his middle. It was a tentacle!

For the first time in his life, Yuri screamed in a panic, swinging his arms to brush away what wasn't there. He reached for a weapon sticking out of a skeleton's ribcage and he turned, swinging at the space with blindness. Cold swarmed from all around and he felt all the anger and madness from all the crew members. They were upset that he was still alive. They had been upset other crew members had been alive, too. Now their madness was spreading, threatening to take him with them.

"No! Get back!" Yuri's attempts to scare them off failed. More and more of him felt cold as if each bite was another ice block encasing his skin. He threw his axe and bolted for the door. There was no way he could stay in here. The door…

Was bolted shut.

Yuri beat his fists on the door. "Come on, Lady! Let me out! You led me through here!"

Laughter.

"You said there was a life boat! Where is it?"

More laughter.

The iciness was freezing his bones. He could almost feel the pricks from the ghostly weapons. "Please! Help me!"

The laughter was more raucous but he heard a faint whisper…

"Wrong door…"

In his panic, Yuri had turned back. He stared at the door, momentarily confused, before he ran the other way for a door that easily opened. He slammed the door shut then the thought occurred to him that ghosts could easily glide through anything solid. Which was probably why his heart was beating fiercely to defrost itself.

Yuri was only vaguely aware of the moisture in his pants. Remembering the scene in that room, the ghosts from the mirrors were surrounding him, and it was like the memories were merged. The assault had no equal in his memory. That was why this experience surprised him. He'd never lost control of his bladder before.

Damn.


	8. Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Eight

**Yuri and the Ghost Ship Part Eight**

Yuri hurried up the steps. He could see sunlight shining through the hole and he was never happier to see it. The deck lacked the spooky feel the rest of the ship had. Fog still surrounded the whole ship but he could still at least see the sun shining through it. Just as the ghost woman promised, there was a life boat at port. Yuri glanced down at it hardly daring to believe it was in working condition, but there were no holes to speak of. When he looked up again, the ghost woman was there smiling at him.

"Thanks. So… what's the story?"

"Mania." She whispered back.

"Wha…?"

"Molded food, bad mushrooms."

"So that stuff you told me not to touch caused all that insanity in the room below?" The woman nodded and Yuri glanced back at the stairs. "Huh… So that's what happened to the crew. If that's the case, you died from them, too?"

"First."

"First? They killed you first?"

"Women are… bad luck. My fault… for being… aboard."

"What? How do you figure?" The woman smiled and faded away. "Hey, wait!" But she was gone. Yuri sighed and took to the boat. Pretty soon, he was going to be at sea again, but at least this time he had a boat instead of his plank. He thought about what had happened and the story that had unfolded to get the ship to this point. Their food had gone bad, and when they ate it, it caused the madness. All of it was blamed on a girl just because she was there… Was it this sort of thing that started the rumor about women aboard a ship was bad luck? He dropped the boat into the ocean and leapt in after it. As he floated away through the fog, he couldn't help but stare at the Atherum and he thought he saw the woman waving through the fog.

Yuri oared his boat and drifted at sea for several more days before he saw the site he had been waiting for. Another ship approached and Yuri waved his arms, hollering as much as he could. He heard faint shouting and the stern turned towards him. He was saved! A rope ladder was lowered down to him and he climbed aboard. Several knights saluted him.

"Welcome aboard!"

"Thanks," Yuri said. "Hey, where's your captain?"

"The Commandant is in the cabin."

"Commandant?"

The knights led him to the cabin and knocked on the door. "Sir, we found a man overboard. He would like to see you."

The door opened and Commandant Flynn emerged. His eyes widened upon seeing Yuri standing there. "Yuri! Where have you been?! What happened to you?"

"Heh, well, I was lost at sea. There's a ghost ship running around these waters, have you seen it?"

"No, I haven't."

"It's surrounded by a bit of fog. If we see fog, go another way, please, I'd rather not go back there."

"What do you mean?"

"You got any food that's not molded? I'll tell you about it after I eat something."

A/N: And that's it! Thank you for reading.


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